(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sheaths for knives and more particularly to a sheath in which the knife is held securely in the sheath so that it will not be accidentally lost or displaced. More particularly still, the present invention relates to a sheath-and-knife combination in which the knife may be carried in an inverted position without accidental or unwanted separation from the sheath and provides a particularly useful pocket clip which conveniently suspends the knife in an inverted position from a pocket.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Knives are often carried on the person for various purposes such as in the field during hunting and military operations and occasionally in pockets for personal use or defense. It is customary to carry a knife in a sheath not only to have the knife readily available for use when wanted, but also to protect both the knife from the environment, which, if in contact with the blade, might dull the blade, and to protect the person carrying or handling the knife from the sharp edge or point of the knife. It has been known in the art to provide various types of locking devices whereby a knife may be interengaged with the sheath through some active detent or the like to prevent the knife from being lost from the sheath. A representative sample of sheath arrangements making use of various means for interlocking a knife and the sheath or otherwise holding a knife in the sheath are disclosed in the following U.S. Patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,605,359 to Louret
U.S. Pat. No. 2,527,711 to Davidson
U.S. Pat. No. 2,793,434 to Wigington
U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,498 to Esposito
U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,044 to Collins
U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,663 to Ray
While the various means and mechanisms for retaining a knife in a sheath disclosed in the above-noted patents have been effective so far as they go, they have had certain disadvantages, one of the major of which is the usual necessity to operate a catch or detent in order to release the knife. Operation of such catch or detent requires a familiarity with the particular detent mechanism by the user of the knife plus sufficient time and practice to quickly and efficiently effect the release of the knife from the sheath, particularly when quick use of the knife is desirable.
In addition to the inconvenience of having to operate a specific release to remove a knife from its sheath, particularly when such knife may be desired to be drawn from its sheath quickly, the usual sheathing of a knife with the hilt of the knife upright and the sheath attached to the belt requires the hand of the knife carrier to be bent at an inconvenient angle in order to draw the knife with a conventional grip on such knife for normal use. The hand grip required for normal use positions the knife with the blade protruding from the front of the hand in a position such that an effective "power grip" is attained on the hilt of the knife. Such power grip enables the knife to extend transversely from the hand with the fingers and thumb curled around the hilt from opposite directions and the hand essentially closed as in grasping any elongated object. The knife can be easily and quickly shifted from the power grip to a so-called "fine controlled grip" in which the knife instead of being gripped with the fingers and thumb curled about the hilt, lies in the palm across the fingers which are only partially curled about the knife hilt while the thumb is pressed against the side of the hilt or even the upper part of the blade in a position such that fine and delicate movements can be made with the knife blade while it is essentially being used as a tool, for example, for paring food, cleaning or skinning animals, and other uses.
It is almost impossible to quickly shift the hilt of a knife in ones hand from the conventional "dagger grip" in which the hilt of the handle is again held with the fingers and the thumb curled about the hilt, but in which the blade of the knife extends from the bottom or heel of the hand rather than from the top of the hand near the thumb. As will be recognized, however, in the case of a knife held in a sheath at about the level of the waist or even higher with the hilt projecting upwardly, the dagger grip is the only grip which is conveniently taken upon the hilt of the knife. This is particularly so if the knife is carried on the belt or the like in the front of the body, where it is safest from removal surreptitiously by third parties, unless the hand of the owner is twisted when drawing the knife at a somewhat or even decidedly inconvenient angle. This is one of the reasons why knives such as bowie knives or hunting knives are so frequently carried in sheaths attached to a belt with the sheath positioned at the side or in the back of the body of the wearer. It is necessary in such positions to stretch the arm in reaching for the knife and the arm thereby assumes a position in which the hand is more or less automatically brought into an orientation where the most natural grip to obtain upon the hilt of the knife is with the knife gripped in a semi-power position with the blade upright and extending from between the fingers and the thumb. It is often convenient, however, to carry a knife attached to the person in the front of the body. Front carriage of a knife is desirable particularly when a coat of some type is to be worn over the knife or when it is desired to conceal the knife, yet allow for quick removal for defense or other purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,003 issued Jul. 8, 1980 to W. W. Collins discloses a knife which is actively interengaged with a detent on a sheath to maintain the knife in the sheath even when the knife is inverted. FIG. 1 of the Collins patent shows a knife retained by a detent interlocked between the knife and the sheath with the sheath held on a shoulder harness in an inverted position allowing the knife to be grasped immediately in the power position orientation and withdrawn downwardly out of the sheath to quickly remove the knife from the sheath. Unfortunately, the knife, although in a convenient position for quick withdrawal, still has to be disengaged from the detent on the upper portion of the sheath, which disengagement at best takes time and at the worse, may completely foil the drawing of the knife under stressful conditions when one is trying to effect a quick withdrawal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,309 issued Jan. 22, 1985 to R. A. Gray discloses a jam-type sheath for a switchblade-type knife. Two sides of the sheath, which is in the form of a rectangular box, are compressed against the sides of the knife handle so that when the hand of the user grips the end of the knife at the top of the blade and pulls, the knife automatically partially opens and then with a further outward force, the handle of the knife is slid out of the compression detent arrangement allowing the knife to be then shifted in the hands so that the hand grips the handle rather than the blade of the knife. While the Gray patent, therefore, discloses a jam-type retention of a knife within a knife holder, it does not provide a convenient method of carrying anything but a switchblade knife.
The present applicant is also aware that for many years it has been the custom to shrink leather gun holsters and knife sheaves over guns and knives by thoroughly wetting the leather and allowing it to dry in contact with the gun or knife in order to attain a tighter and more retentive fit. Unfortunately such shrink fitting is not effective for very long since the leather rather quickly stretches and losses it tautness, usually within a matter of days.
The applicant is also aware of a prior use of stiff thermoplastic material including his preferred material of construction for his sheath in connection with the retention of a knife in such sheath by forming upon the surface of the knife blade small depressions or dimples, usually near the top of the blade with a further gripping of the blade fairly tightly between the sheath panels at the bottom of the sheath. Steps were also taken to prevent intimate contact of the intermediate portion of the knife blade with the intermediate portion of the sheath. While relatively effective, the expedient of forming depressions in the blade is undesirable as it mars the surface of the knife making it less desirable, particularly for collectors, and thus decreasing its market value and the dimples must be either rather large or else the knife seated rather exactly in the sheath in order to make certain it is securely gripped by the sheath.
It has also been the custom to provide sheaths for knives with various loops and/or clips for attachment to belts and other portions of the dress or accouterments upon civilian or military dress. While such expedients have had varying degrees of success, there has been no really effective means for attaching a knife directly to a pocket without severely straining and in many cases tearing such pocket and rendering further accommodation of the knife impossible.
For some years also, it has been the custom to provide pocket clips for the carrying of pencils, pens, rulers and other devices in the breast pocket within a plastic or leather carrying case which essentially fills the entire pocket very often with a clip on the outside to help retain the carrier within the pocket. The fact that the case fills essentially the entire pocket together with the clips provides additional security over and above using only a clip to retain individual writing or other implements.
In addition to the above, U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,984 issued Oct. 31, 1978 to A. G. Russell discloses a sheath for a knife in which the sheath is formed into a rectangular shape generally of a size and conformation for slipping easily into and substantially filling a pocket and particularly a back pant's pocket where the knife and the sheath can be essentially hidden from view. The knife itself it seated in the sheath between two outer sheath members which enclose a slot in the main pocket entering member. In use, the entire rectangular pocket member plus a knife held within such member between adjacent outer sheath members is used only in pockets where it is placed right side up in such pocket to enable grasping of the top of the handle of the knife to be effected. The Russell arrangement, therefore, does not allow the knife to be carried on the person in an inverted position convenient for grasping by the hand of the user in a high-speed draw of the knife.
There has been a need, therefore, for a sheath-and-knife arrangement in which the sheath may be carried in an inverted position with the knife arranged in the sheath for quick grasping by the hand for withdrawal of the knife in its power position in the quickest possible manner and without any necessity to operate a catch in order to release the knife from its sheath, yet allow the knife to be retained in the sheath without an inconvenient and frequently difficult to activate mechanical interlock arrangement.
There has, furthermore, been a continuing need for a knife sheath that will securely hold a knife from accidental release from the sheath during active movements of the wearer without an inconveniently operated special catch or detent even when the knife and sheath are worn or carried in an upright, as contrasted to an inverted, position.
There has been a still further need for a means to securely support a knife from a pocket in the clothing of an individual that provides a secure retention for the sheath and the knife, is comfortable to wear, plus being inconspicuous.